1. Stress Level And The Common Coping Strategies Among International Postgraduate Students At University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Aniza Ismail ; Jamsiah Mustafa ; Sanaa Taher ; Chiew Wye Lee ; Jamsiah Mustafa
ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry 2016;17(1):1-12
Objectives: This study was to determine the stress level, and the common coping
strategies used by the international postgraduate students in UKMMC, Cheras
campus Kuala Lumpur to alleviate their stress. Methods: A cross-sectional study
to determine the stress-level was conducted among the international
postgraduate students in UKMMC, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. A selfadministrated
questionnaire was instituted, including fundamental data on socio
demographic data of the respondents, the stress level using Kessler Psychological
Distress scale (K10) and the Brief Cope scale. Results: A total of 126 respondents
with responding rate of 82.9% participated in this study. Mean age of
respondents was 35.20 ± 5.52 years with slightly more than half of them aged
between 30-39 years. Majority were Arabic students (52.4%) followed by Iranian
(27.8%) and Asian students (19.8%). The stress prevalence among the students
was 54.8%.Out of the fourteen coping strategies, three werefound to be effective
in managing their stress, which include self-distraction (OR= 1.48, 95% CI =
1.03–2.22), denial (OR= 1.57, 95% CI = 1.11–2.22), and self-blame (OR= 1.66,
95% CI= 1.21–2.28). Conclusion: Half of the post graduates students at
UKMMC had some form of stress. Self-distraction, denial, and self-blame are
the strategists used to alleviatethe stress among the post graduates students.
Further study is recommended to measure the effectiveness of these strategists in
order to overcome their stress level